Moscow’s forces launched nearly 100 deadly glide bombs and dozens of drones at Ukraine in the past day, Kyiv said. Its military reported that over 96 glide bombs, two missiles, 4000 shells and 44 kamikaze drones were fired across the border. Glide bombs are an air-dropped munition launched from a distance rather than above the target and can pack a payload up to 1.5 tons.
Last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia dropped more than 2,400 glide bombs on Ukraine since the beginning of June, with 700 of them hitting the Kharkiv region. It comes as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued Russia’s top military chiefs with arrest warrants over their attacks on civilian targets.
Russia’s former defense minister Sergei Shoigu and leading general Valery Gerasimov are accused of orchestrating a campaign of long-range bombardments against Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the winter of 2022. The Russian military shelled 20 settlements in the Donetsk region in the last 24 hours, killing one and injuring at least nine, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. This comes as the Russian navy missile cruiser Varyag has carried out drills in the Mediterranean Sea, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Thursday, citing the navy command. The drills focused on repelling a mass sea drone attack, the navy command said. It also involved simulated engagements with an enemy vessel and a submarine.
Earlier this month, a Russian naval frigate conducted drills in the Atlantic Ocean searching for submarines while on its way to Cuba.
Ukraine downs 23 drones overnight
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down all 23 drones and five out of six missiles launched by Russia in the early hours of Thursday. Khmelnytskyi regional governor Serhii Tiurin said that air defense shot down nine aerial targets over his region. Local authorities have not received any reports of casualties or property damage, he added. Governor Vitaliy Kim said the military destroyed six drones and three cruise missiles over the southern region of Mykolaiv. Two drones were shot down over the southern region of Kherson and one more was shot down over the Dnipropetrovsk region, local authorities said.
Zelensky to sign new security pact with EU nations
The EU is expected to sign a security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today, pledging to keep delivering weapons, military training and other aid to Kyiv for years to come. The agreement will lay out the union’s commitment to help Ukraine in nine key areas of security and defense policy – including arms deliveries, military training, defense industry cooperation and demining, according to drafts. In the event of “future aggression”, the document said the EU and Ukraine intend to consult within 24 hours on Kyiv’s needs and “swiftly determine” next steps in line with the commitments. The document is part of a broader effort by Ukraine’s partners to provide assurances that they will stand by Kyiv for the long haul, with no end in sight to the war and no immediate prospect of Ukraine joining the EU or NATO.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
